


Defence Mechanisms

by fangirl_squee



Series: homies help homies, always [23]
Category: Les Misérables - All Media Types
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-05-08
Updated: 2013-05-08
Packaged: 2017-12-10 20:29:00
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,311
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/789837
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fangirl_squee/pseuds/fangirl_squee
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Enjolras yells at Grantaire for falling asleep in a meeting, Marius is a force to be reckoned with.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Defence Mechanisms

**Author's Note:**

> Dedicated to Adri (http://refrigeratorsrock.tumblr.com/) who basically lets me ramble at her about this universe every single day, and who let me use some of her ideas in this.
> 
> This is set after Meetings, although you don't need to have read that to follow this.

 

Grantaire is asleep in a meeting. Sometimes, he dozes through the speeches (although he usually manages to rouse himself to argue with Enjolras), and Marius has to prod him awake. He doesn’t have the heart to today though. Grantaire’s been working almost non-stop on his piece for class (Icarus reaching for the sun, his only just wings beginning to fail) and between classes and his night job bartending, he’s barely slept. He refused to miss this meeting, even though he could barely keep his eyes open on the ride there.

 

“I’m _fine_ Marius,” he said, around a yawn, “it’s just a couple of hours. Can’t have Enjolras saying I’m slacking off, now can I?”

 

It had taken him all of five minutes to be totally out, slumped over his sketchpad with his head pillowed in his arms, hair falling over his face.

 

Combeferre had only raised his eyebrows slightly at Grantaire’s sleeping form, but had otherwise said nothing. Enjolras didn’t seem to notice straight away, pausing mid-speech as if he was leaving space for an interruption. His eyes fell on Grantaire, and he scowls, raising his voice slightly as he stalks towards Grantaire.

 

“I don’t know why you even bother coming if you’re not even going to _listen to me_!” Enjolras slams him hand down on the table top to punctuate his sentence, jarring Grantaire awake.

 

Grantaire jumps in his seat, brow furrowing. “Sorry, I –“

 

“You’re _sorry_? No Grantaire, _I’m_ sorry. I’m sorry that you constantly attend these meetings even though you clearly consider them to be a waste of your time.” Grantaire opens his mouth to retort, but Enjolras isn’t done yet. “I’m sorry that you feel that what we’re trying to accomplish here is such a waste of time that you can just come here to drink, sleep, and sketch stupid cartoons.” He rips the sketchpad out from underneath Grantaire’s hands, and waves it in the air for emphasis, “honestly Grantaire, I don’t know why you bother to come to these meetings at all, if it’s all such a _waste of time_ to you.”

 

Marius can feel the room tense for Grantaire’s response, but Grantaire just let out a slow breath, a grin on his face. “Wow, Enjolras, why don’t you tell me how you really feel?”

 

Enjolras drops the sketchpad on the table. “Why can’t you be serious with me for once? Don’t you have _any_ purpose other than to infuriate me?”

 

Grantaire’s grin falters slightly. Marius knows enough about Grantaire’s parents by now to know that he’s probably heard that particular question before. He can see Grantaire preparing to just brush this off, and he thinks _no_. Because hearing this from family, in some long-ago argument, is one thing, but Marius _will not_ sit back and just let Enjolras tell Grantaire that worst parts of himself are true.

 

“Excuse me,” he says, and his voice is too quiet, Enjolras already taking a breath, so he repeats, louder, “ _excuse me_.”

 

Enjolras looks at him slightly stunned, as if he’d forgotten Marius was in the room at all. He looks as if he’s about to tell Marius not to interrupt, or something equally ridiculous, so Marius speaks quickly (a nervous habit, but he’s finding it’s also something of a necessity when you are in a group as verbose as Les Amis). He forces himself to make eye contact with Enjolras.

 

He manages to keep his voice steady, loud enough that the whole room can hear him clearly. “You said, during the first meeting I attended here, that this group valued fairness and equality. Most of the time that is true, but I see no proof of that here today. Grantaire has attended the same amount of meetings I have, and he has put in the same amount effort into this group, maybe even more than I have in terms of discussion. But you continue to act as though he is a burden to this group, and to you specifically. Just because someone does not agree with your opinion on something, that doesn’t automatically make them a burden on your cause. And if you really think that you can’t stand up to one dissenting voice, then clearly you don’t have as much faith in this as you say you do.”

 

Enjolras’ eyes are wide. Marius turns to Grantaire, who is looking at him with a very strange expression on his face (it’s a little like the look on his face when he watches Enjolras speak, awestruck). He stands, offering Grantaire a hand up, and Grantaire follows him to the exit, still silent. As he pushes the door open, he looks over his shoulder. The others are still staring, silent.

 

“Oh, and also, Enjolras, your speech has several factual errors. I’m sure Grantaire would have corrected you, if he hadn’t been so exhausted from working night shifts every night this week and completing his first major assignment for the year, on top of his usual class work. You really should get someone to look it over before you speak.”

 

And with that, he’s out the door, Grantaire following behind him. Grantaire doesn’t speak until they’re in the car.

 

“Marius, that was,” he gestures behind them, lost for words, “you didn’t have to do that. It doesn’t matter.”

 

Marius frowns, gaze flicking to Grantaire and back to the road. “Of course it matters. Enjolras might be the leader of Les Amis, but that doesn’t give him the right to speak to you that way.” He continues, voice softer, “you’re a good person Grantaire. Just because you believe different things about how the world works, that doesn’t make your opinion lesser or wrong.”

 

Grantaire looks down at his hands. “You don’t think it’s a little ridiculous, going there every week to argue with someone? I am kind of wasting his time.”

 

“No, I don’t. Removing someone who disagrees with you doesn’t magically make that opinion disappear from the world. You would still believe the things you believe even if you were in another city, or another country. Anyway, it’s probably a good thing for Enjolras to hear your point of view on a regular basis, I mean, the rest of the group, they’re there because they’re already convinced. They’re not really Enjolras’ target market. Enjolras’ speeches are supposed to be designed for non-believers. No offence.”

 

Grantaire smiles faintly. “None taken.”

 

Marius pulls up at a stoplight and turns to face Grantaire. “It’s not like not believing in Les Amis makes you a bad person. I mean, you help out at that community centre thing, and you took _me_ in.”

 

“That’s not a big deal –“ protests Grantaire.

 

“To me, it is,” says Marius. On impulse he reaches out, putting a hand on Grantaire’s shoulder, squeezing slightly before letting go.

 

“I – thanks,” says Grantaire, and this time, the smile reaches his eyes.

 

The traffic light changes, and they pull away.

 

“It’s no trouble at all to tell the truth,” says Marius.

 

 

(Enjolras finds Grantaire on campus the next day, and gives an apology, stilted, but honest. Grantaire knows they will never see eye to eye about the world completely, and this will probably not be the last time they have an argument, he accepts. Enjolras does ask him to look over a copy of one of his speeches, and when he’s done Enjolras thanks him for his input.

 

During the next meeting, he interrupts Enjolras’ speech about the rights of man. They argue through the rest of the meeting, and they keep up the discussion until Grantaire has to leave for work. Enjolras ends up walking with him all the way to the bar, and by the time they get there they‘re actually talking to each other rather than yelling.

 

Grantaire has several truly terrible drunken customers that night, but he can’t stop smiling for his whole shift.)

http://fangirl-squee.tumblr.com/post/49967662169/fic-defence-mechanisms

**Author's Note:**

> feedback is always loved: fangirl-squee.tumblr.com/ask


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